National Hockey League veteran forward and two-time Stanley Cup champion Jeff Carter is retiring from hockey after 19 seasons in the NHL, he announced.
Carter, 39, announced his retirement after playing his final game for the Pittsburgh Penguins on Wednesday. He scored his final NHL goal in the third period of Wednesday’s 5-4 loss to the New York Islanders.
“I’m going to be a dad. You miss a lot being a hockey player, you’re in and out in a way,” Carter said after Wednesday’s game, according to NHL.com. “My family sacrificed a lot for me to live out my dream. I’m going to be home and be a dad, and then figure it out from there.”
Carter, a native of London, Ontario, Canada, played his last four NHL seasons with the Penguins. He entered the league in 2003 when he was selected 11th overall in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft by the Philadelphia Flyers. He played his first six seasons for the Flyers before being traded to the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2011. Carter played half of the 2011-12 NHL season with the Blue Jackets before again being traded to the Los Angeles Kings in February 2012.
After being traded to Los Angeles, Carter helped lead the Kings to winning the 2012 Stanley Cup over the New Jersey Devils in six games. Two seasons later, Carter and the Kings again won the Stanley Cup in 2014, defeating the New York Rangers in five games. He played nine seasons for the Kings from 2012 to 2021 before being traded to the Penguins in April 2021.
Carter finishes his 19-year NHL career with 851 points – 442 goals and 409 assists – in 1,321 games.
Following retirement, Carter said he plans remain in Pittsburgh, where he lives with his wife, Megan, and their two children, Caden and Emersyn.
“We’re staying. We moved here in August full time,” Carter said. “We’ve loved it. It’s been a great fit for our family. It’s central to both our extended families. It has worked out really well.”
